Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/James A. Garfield/archive1

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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Ian Rose via FACBot (talk) 10:48, 2 May 2015 (UTC) [1].[reply]

James A. Garfield[edit]

Nominator(s): Coemgenus (talk), Wehwalt (talk) 09:17, 23 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This article is about... a President of the United States. James Garfield is almost forgotten today but for the manner in which he met his death. Yet in 49 years he rose from poverty (the last president born in a log cabin) to the White House. He did much in those 49 years, and possibly could have done more if he had been spared for four more.Wehwalt (talk) 09:17, 23 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • I should mention that I'm a Wikicup participant. --Coemgenus (talk) 14:27, 28 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support It is a very thorough, well-written article. Especially for a person who barely held the office which brought him fame, it contains great detail, yet pertinent information Spartan7W § 01:03, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the review.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Crisco comments

  • until his death by assassination later that year. - By definition, an assassination (otherwise it's an attempted assassination) causes the death of the target. I'd nix "death by" from this sentence.
Nixed.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:47, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Garfield, James's father, had been born in Worcester, New York, but came to Ohio to woo his childhood sweetheart, Mehitabel Ballou, only to find her married. - there are several minor clauses here. I'd try simplifying.
Simpled.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:47, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Illness forced Garfield to return home - how long after he started working the canal boats?
Added (6 weeks).--Wehwalt (talk) 12:24, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • What year is that image of Lucretia?
Those photos from the Brady-Handy collection don't have dates more precise than a range of years, unfortunately, so "in the 1870s" is as close as we can get. --Coemgenus (talk) 12:14, 25 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Among those named were Vice President (and former House Speaker) Schuyler Colfax, Grant's second-term running mate (Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson), the current Speaker, Maine's James G. Blaine, and Garfield. - Perhaps use semi colons instead of commas where necessary to differentiate between entrees in the list?
I'm fairly traditional American English when it comes to semi-colons, one per sentence. I've restructured a bit so commas are used to separate each entry.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:47, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • with Peskin writing "Did Garfield lie? - who's Peskin?
I've added the first name, but I think the first part of the sentence makes it pretty clear he's a Garfield biographer.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:47, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • The second mention of him (where you introduced him in the version I reviewed) should be reworked now. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 09:53, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Any celebration was short lived, as Garfield's youngest son, Neddie, suddenly fell ill with whooping cough shortly after the congressional election in October, and soon died. - you just mentioned that the election was in October. Do you need to do so again?
Done.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:24, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Garfield's appointment of Thomas Lemuel James as Postmaster General infuriated Conkling, who demanded a compensatory appointment for his faction, such as the position of Secretary of the Treasury. - If you're going to talk about James in detail, might not be worth mentioning in the first paragraph
The battle was really over Robertson, though plainly having James as Postmaster General (another really plum patronage position) didn't make Conkling happy. I've played with it a bit.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:57, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Standardize: Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere?
Done.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:57, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Among those who were in the station was Robert Lincoln, who sixteen years before had watched his father die from an assassin's bullet. - Is this all that pertinent to Garfield?
I think people are interested in the common links among the four assassinated presidents. Ever see the card you could buy with all the ones between Lincoln and Kennedy?--Wehwalt (talk) 09:33, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Perhaps... I'll defer to other reviewers on this. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 09:35, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Done.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:31, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • In a chaotic trial in which Guiteau often interrupted and argued, and his counsel used the insanity defense, due to his odd character, the jury found him guilty on January 5, 1882, and he was sentenced to death. - Could this be simplified a bit?
  • There are about ten duplicate links. I'd check them and see which are really needed. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 06:30, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • I trimmed a few, but left sold where the duplicates were widely spaced. --Coemgenus (talk) 12:28, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - Brilliant piece of prose. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:33, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the kind words, and for the review and support.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:35, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Image review

  • File:James_Abram_Garfield_Signature.svg: source link is dead
  • File:Garfield-at-16.jpg needs US PD tag; same with File:Lucretia_Garfield_-_Brady-Handy.jpg, File:Greenback.jpg, File:Left_Puck.jpg
  • File:Garfield_Monument1.JPG needs to identify copyright status of the sculpture itself, same with File:James_Abram_Garfield_Monument,_San_Francisco.jpg
  • File:Garfield_assassination_engraving_cropped.jpg: source links are dead, needs US PD tag
  • File:Garfield-casket.jpg: when/where was this first published? Nikkimaria (talk) 06:31, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the review. I've fixed the monuments so far.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:33, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
All done but the signature, the engraving, and the casket. Those will take a bit more research.--Wehwalt (talk) 01:14, 25 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Those last three should be resolved now. --Coemgenus (talk) 12:14, 25 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Support – comprehensive and a really good read. A few minor quibbles, not affecting my support:

  • Education, marriage and early career
    • "and as a school teacher" – is it usually two words in AmEng?
    • "janitor" – a link would be a kindness to non-Americans
    • "Westerner, was liked" – missing a "he" before "was", I think
  • Under Buell's command
    • Last para has three "Garfields" in three consecutive sentences. You might advantageously lose at least one of the second and third.
    • "friction in the Garfield marriage, which Lucretia graciously overlooked" – I don't quite follow this: if there was friction, how could she overlook it?
  • Reconstruction
    • "Ulysses S. Grant" – already linked earlier
  • Tariffs and finance
    • "gold standard" – ditto
  • Crédit Mobilier scandal; Salary Grab
    • "winning with only 57 percent of the vote" – the reader (at least this one) naturally asks what his earlier percentage of the vote had been.
  • Cabinet and inauguration
    • "a nemesis of MacVeagh" – was he really a nemesis ("a person who or thing which avenges, punishes, or brings about someone's downfall; an agent of retribution" – OED) rather than merely an enemy?
Toned down to "opponent".--Wehwalt (talk) 15:48, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Foreign policy and naval reform
    • "Great Britain" – one realises that the importance of the "little group of isles beyond the wave" is not what it once was, but surely we still count among "major geographic features and locations", not requiring a blue link?
      Delinked. As bright now shines Great Britain’s rays as in King George’s glorious days.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:48, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    • "any settlement that restore the previous status quo" – either "restored" or "would restore"?
      Edit in haste, repent at leisure. Fixed.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:48, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That's all from me. This article plainly meets all the FA criteria, in my view. The prose is a pleasure, the proportions and balance judicious, the sourcing wide and thorough, and the images excellent (even the one of the incomparably hideous Baltimore & Potomac station). Tim riley talk 12:52, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks for a thorough review and support. We shall work through these most helpful comments.--Wehwalt (talk) 15:48, 24 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks from me, also. I've addressed everything Wehwalt didn't get to already. --Coemgenus (talk) 12:26, 25 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Splendid stuff! Was supporting already and am now supportinger. Tim riley talk 14:54, 25 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per standard disclaimer. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 22:07, 27 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Thanks, Dank, for the support and the copyedits. --Coemgenus (talk) 00:38, 28 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. Well-sourced, well-written article. --Carioca (talk) 22:29, 29 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the review and support.--Wehwalt (talk) 01:20, 30 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]


Note -- source review for formatting/reliability? Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 01:35, 30 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Sources review[edit]

  • Something has gone awry with the pp mechanism between refs 118 and 136, where most if not all of the page ranges are represented by p rather than pp.
  • In the Books list, Vowell lacks a publisher location
  • The Emma Elizabeth Brown book has OCLC 3037198, according to WorldCat
  • No citations to the Vowell book that I can see.

Otherwise, the sources are all of appropriate quality, and there are no other format issues. Brianboulton (talk) 20:40, 30 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for that. I've taken care of that.--Wehwalt (talk) 05:08, 1 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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